Paper fastener



Jan. 2, 1951 R. H. WENDT 2,536,792

PAPER FASTENER Filed Dec. 11, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 flax; 6002502 QZm WM Jan. 2, 1951 R. H. WENDT 2,536,792

' PAPER FASTENER Filed Dec. 11, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 g 4/6 a; l/ l} j Jan. 2, 1951 R, H, WEND'T 2,536,792

PAPER FASTENER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 11, 1948 INVENTOR.

Patented Jan. 2, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT orries Robert H. Wendt, Evanston, Ill.

Application December 11, 1948, Serial No. 64,740 i The present invention relates to paper fasteners and holders, and is particularly concerned with the provision of an improved type of paper fastener for securing together a stack of sheets of paper, such as letters or other documents, with or without covers and by means of which the stack may be separated at any point for insertion'of a sheet or sheets or removal of sheets and again reassembled in one stack with a minimum amount of eilort.

One of the difiiculties with the binders of the prior art of this type lies in the factv that whenever it is necessary to remove one paper from the interior or the lower'part of a stack of papers in such a binder, one must lift off all the papers which are above it, and even though one tries to hold the apertures in alignment, this becomes practically impossible, since there is nothing to hold the papers except the fingers of the operator, and it is especially diflicult when lClaim. (01. 24-153) the operator is "going to remove one document from the remaining assembly.

Another disadvantage of the devices of the prior art lies in the fact that there is considerable waste in the manufacture of those devices.

' Another disadvantage of the devices of the prior art is that the fastening devices require the manufacture of two separate units, one of which supports the prongs and the other of which supports the sliders which secure the prongs in a bent-over condition.

none of the. objects of the present invention is the provision of an improved binder and fastening device which is so arranged that the binder may be taken apart at any point for removal of one or more documents, the fastening devices still holding the sheets in alignment so that it is a simple matter: to :take themv apart, .lay them down, remove such documents as are desired, and put them together again.

As distinguished from the devices of the prior art, in which it is frequently necessary to rearrange documents, sheet by sheet, after they have been removed, the present binder can be put together again at any point by merely rein- 's'erting the prongs which are guldediby complementary prongs carried by the other section.

Another object of the invention is the provi-.

sion of an improved fastener which requires-flessmetal than the devices of the-prior art by virtue:- of the fact that its prongs are punched out of the body of the fastener and thus it is umieces sary to assemble separate prongs with a body:

and it is unnecessary to have prongs which ex'-';-,

tend longitudinally from one end of the body,

which involves a waste of material on both sides of each prong.

Another objectof the invention is the provision of an improved fastener structure which utilizes; a minimum amount of material, and whichmay be constructed of various types of material,which may be used over and over again, and which is;

adapted to lock the papers tightly in the covers, and to minimize the possibility of the papers be ing torn by the prongs.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved .fastener and binder assembly, which is simple, capable of economical manufacture, easy to manipulate, economical of matee' rial, sturdy, and adapted to be used for a long of sheets, thereby simplifying the structure and reducing the cost of the fasteners.

Other objects and advantages of the illVeIitlOIl will be apparent from the following description and. the accompanying drawings, in which simi-- lar' characters of reference'indicate similar parts throughout'the several views.

Referring to the drawings of which there-are three sheets accompanying this specification,

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective showing my fas teners in. the position which they assume when they are in the course-of being inserted into, a

stack of sheets from the opposite sides thereof? Fig. 2 isa'v fragmentary plan view showing the left end of the upper fastener ofyFigure 1;,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary bottom plan View of;

the left end of the fastener, which is shown at the left end of the lower fastener of Figure 11;?

-, Fig.4 is fragmentary vertical sectional view."

taken; on the plane passing through the axis of the fasteners, such as are shown at the left end of Figure 1; but shown with a stack of file pa pers;

Fig.5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken" on the plane of therline 5-5 of Figure 2;

,Figifi is a view in perspective of a modified form of fastener'w-hich I employ both above- 2,686,792 j I f fl' and below the stack of sheets, thereby accomplishing the same result with one form of fastener;

Fig. ,7 is a bottom plan view of the fastener of Figure 6;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the plane passing through the axis of the fastener of Figure 6;

Fig. 9 is a view in perspective of another modification. showing the fasteners in the position which they assume as they are being placed together on the sheets;

Fig. 10 is a similar view of another modification;

Fig. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view ofthe upper fastener in Figure 9, showing it mode of f construction;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary sectional view, showin the fastener of Figure 10 applied to a stack of sheets and two covers; and

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary elevational view taken dnthe' plane of the line I3'I3 of Figure 11', looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to Figure l, the fastener assembly as illustrated consists of two types of fasteners III 'II, each of which may be made of bendabl siiet'metal such as tin-covered iron. I -iiri some embodiments of the invention 'the fasteners maybe made of fiber, such as press board or initially plastic sheets of material, such as ethyl cellulose, cellulose acetate or methyl methacrylate. i 1

The fastener I9 consists of a fiat rectangular body I2 in the form of an elongated strip, and the body has sufficient area to engage the sheets of'paper in the stack and to hold the sheets against tearing from the fastener. The body I2 is preferably formed with a pair of longitudinally extending pressed re-enforcing ribs I3, I4, leaving a'flat central portion between the ribs.

*Body I2 is provided with a pair of prongs I5, I6, which'are preferably punched out of the body I2, leaving apertures I'I, I8, and leaving-the prongs I5 and I6 integrally attached to the body at the bases I9, 29, where the prongs I5 and I6 are bent down in Figure 1 at right angles to the body I 2.

'Th prongs I5, I6 have their bases I9 and preferably located inwardly of the ends 2|, 22 of the body so that the ends of the fastener III extend beyond the holes in which the prongs I5, IE are to be inserted.

In the fastener II) the two prongs I5'and I6 initially extend toward each other, and the holes I! and I8 are located inwardly of the prongs I5 and" I 6 for a reason further to be described. The fastener I I is similar in structure in that it comprises a rectangular sheet of bendable material, the body of which is indicated at 23 and the ends at 24 and 25.

The body 23 is again provided'with the two 1on gitudinally extending pressed re-enforcing ribs 26, 21, and a pair of prongs 29, 29 are punched out of the body at the end portions thereof, leaving rectangular slots 30, 3| extending into both ends of the body 23. The reason for'punching the prongs 28 and 29 out of the end portions of the fastener'I I, while then punching the prongs I5 and I3 out of the'middle portions of the fastener III, is so that the holes in the fastener ID will be fastener I ll.

The method of assembly with .sheets'and coversis illustrated in Figure-4-,inwhich 3-2 illustrates across section of a stack of sheets assembled with two covers 33, 34, and a pair of fasteners I9 and I I. The stack of sheets 32 and the covers 33, 34 are all provided with a pair of apertures spaced sufficiently to register with the prongs of the two fasteners.

The sheets may then be placed with one cover 34 upon the lower fastener I I, the prong 29 passing through one of the apertures 35 in the stack, and the prong 28 passingthrough another aperture in the stack (not shown).

Since the arrangement is the same at both ends of the fastener, it is unnecessary to describe the arrangement of the prongs at both ends. The upper end of the prong 29 will then project through the aperture I8, while the upper end of prong 28 will project through aperture I! when the fastener It and its cover 23 is placed on the stack of sheets.

The prongs I5 and I6 may then pass down through the same apertures which are used for the prongs 28 and 29 respectively, and in Figure 4 the prong I5 is shown in the same aperture 35 with the prong 29. I

The prongs I5 and It will then pass through the slots 39 and 3 I, and at this stage in the assembly the sheets and covers are on the prongs of the fasteners, but the prongs have not been secured in any way. Where the fasteners are made of bendable material that tends to retain any bend that is placed in it, such as brass or tin-covered iron, it may only be necessarytobend the prongs over, in which case the ends of the prongs I5 and It would be bent inwardly over the body of'the fastener I I at the bottom. The prongs 28 and 29 would preferably ,be bent outwardly over the body of the fastener IE1 at the top.

I prefer to provide the fasteners with auxiliary arrangements for positively securing the bent ends of the prongs as follows:

A suitable hole 35, 31, rectangular in shape and wide enough to receive the prongs 28, 29, is pro-v vided in the body I2 of the fastener I9 adjacent each of the prongs I5 and I6, but outwardly in the body with respect to each prong.

In a similar way suitable holes 38, 39 are located in the body 23 of the fastener I I, inwardly of the prongs 28 and 29. In order to facilitate the insertion of the ends of the prongs into these holes each hole is preferably formed with an outwardly extending offset flange 49, the body being pressed with a short tapering rib in such manner that the edge 4| of the flange causes the hole to face toward the direction from which the point of the prong is coming for insertion in the hole.

The holes being close to the bases of the prongs, this enables the user toinsert the ends of the prong from the opposite fastener into these holes even thoughthere is only a short amount of the prong protruding from'the stack of sheets;

The method of insertion of the prongs into the holes 3II-39 is as follows:

After the sheets and fasteners have been assembled and the prongs are projecting from'the stack of sheets, each prong is taken in the thumb and forefinger and curved about the-forefinger;

- downwardly until its pointcan be inserted in oneof the holes, such: as the. prong '29'is inserted:

in the hole 31 in Figure 4. 7

Due to the flange 40 being offset upwardly on thefastener I Ii in Figure 4, the edge 4| of this flange presents the opening 31 toward thepoint of the prong and it is relativel easy to in;

Thereafter-the curved end portion of theprong is pushed downward into the flat ;.ccndition, shown in Figure 4, whereupon the end 42 of the prong is guided between thgbodyof the fastener and the cover 33 into a flat condition, as shown in Figure 4. This secures the ends ofseach' prong by passing it through an aperture in the fastener bodyand by bending the end portion of the prong over at right angles, as, for example, at the bend 43, Figure 4, when the end portion of the prong is flattened out. Thus it is unnecessary to provide any sliders on the bodies of the fasteners for positively securing-the ends of the prongs.

When the ends of the prongs are to be released a knife or other tool, such as aletter opener, may be inserted between the end portion of the prong and the fastener and the prong is pried upward until it is drawn back out of the hole 31 in Figure a; It-is then possible to separate-the stack of sheets 32'at any point, with the lowerpart of the stack held on the fastener H andthe upper part of thestack held on the fastener l0. Any additional sheets may be inserted where ever desired and the two parts of the stack can again be reassembled by shoving the prongs i6, 29 through the hole and the prongs I 5, 28 through the other hole. It is no longer necessary to lift all the sheets off of a fastener or to replace them one by one when a new sheet is to be put in the middle of a stack of sheets. The present fasteners keep the sheets in perfect order so that the can be separated anywhere and reassembled without difficulty. Referring now to Figures 6; 7 and 8-, these are views of a modification in which only one type of fastener need be employed. In this modificationthe single type of fastener 44 has its left end formed similar to the upper fastener Hi, and its ri ht end formed similar to the lower fastener ii. This enables the user to turn the same fastener upsidedown for the bottom fastoner and the user will find that the holes and slots are in the proper position to receive the prongs of the opposite fastener.

For example, indicates a fragment of another similar fastener used for the bottom of the stack, and since these fasteners are both alike it is only necessary to describe one. The fastener 44 has a flat bod 6.6 provided with a pair of longitudinally extend ng re-enforcing ribs 41, 48. Body at: has two prongs 49 and 50. The prong 5G is located adjacent to but spaced from the le'ft'end' M of the body 45, but it is punched out of the middle part of the body forming an elongated hole 52, which is toward the right of the prQ s. v "The prong 45 is located adiacent to but, spaced from the other end 53 of the body 45, and prong 49 is punched out of the right end portion, leaving aslot toward the right of the prong 49. The fastener 25 is exactly identical in construction but oppositel applied and, therefore, 'it has 9. prong 59a which is toward the right of the aperture 52a. The body 4511 has another prong of sheets as:.-the prong 50a,- and. prong-491ml pass through the aperture 52a. H

It will thusbe observed that only a; single die need be provided for making the device: of Figure 6, thereby reducing the cost of the fastener. As stated with regard to Figure 1, where thematicrial is a bendable metal adapted to retain its bend, it may only be necessary after assembling the fastener with a stack of sheets to bend over the projecting ends of the prongs 49, 50, 49a and 50a.

I'prefer, however, to provide a positive means for securing the bent-over ends of the prongs. For this purpose the bod 46 is preferably pro: videdwith apressed elongated rib 55, toward the left of prong 58, and withanotherpressed elongated rib .56 towardtheleft of prong 49. Each of these ribsis formed with an inner depression 5 58 of sufficient size to house a prong 50-o r 49,-

Each of the ribs is formed with a slit at its right end, Figure 8,, these slits forming openings 53, 52, facing toward the ends of the prongs which they are intended to receive and adapted to house the ends of the prongs.

It is preferable to use covers on the stacks of sheets so that the fiber covers located under the grooves 51, 53, Figure 8, will guide the ends of the prongs 59a and 56a after they have been passed through the apertures 59 and 450.

The mode of securement of -the ends of the prongs is substantially the same as described in Figure 1, except that inFigures 6 to 8 an clon gated groove is also provided to receive the ends of the prongs.

It will thus be observed that I have invented a plurality of improved types of paper fasteners, all of which have the characteristic that prongs pass through the stack of sheets from opposite sides of the sheets in the same hole and, therefore, the stack of sheets can be separated at any point for insertion of a new sheet or for removal of one or more sheets. I

When the change desired has been made in the middle of the. stack by removing or adding 49a which is toward the right of the slot 54a from wh ch-it was punched.

In assembling these twos im'ilar fasteners with a'stack of sheets the prongs 49a and 56a should be located on the same side of the pron s 50 and 439, respectively, as shown in Figure 6. Thus the prong 49a will pass through the aperture 52 and the prong Sila will pass through the slot 54.

When the prong 5!; is inserted into the same hole in the stack of sheets as the prong 49a, prong 50 will pass through the slot 54a. Prong 49 will be passed through the same aperture in the stack sheets, then it is a simple matter to reassemble the stack by simultaneously passing prongs through the stack from both sides while the prongs are still supporting portions of the stacks of sheets. v o A great dealof labor may be saved by utilizing the 1 present fastener instead of the fasteners which have prongs only on one side oncover; Where there are prongs only on one side it is frequently found that sheets mustberepla'ced one pr n s.

The reinsert on of the prongs'is made easier" withthe present inventionbecause each prong slides against-another prong, thus guiding the prongs through the stack of sheets more easily than is the case where the sheets are loose and the'holes are empty.

1 Referring to Figure 1, in some embodiments of the invention, the end portions of the body '23 outside of prongs 28, 29, on either side of slots 30, 3|,1may be omitted, body 23 terminating 'at prongs '28, 29, since these endr'aortions merely fastener does not extend beyond the apertures in the sheets, being provided with integral prongs 16, TI, located substantially at the ends of the body plates 90.

Each of these fasteners 90, 9|,- of Figure 10, is identical with the other, but they are reversed in position so that the prong 76 of the upper fastener 99 is at the right end and the prong T6 of the lower fastener is at the left end. Thus only one type of fastener need be made or kept in 1;

stock for this device.

In this device the fasteners 90 and 9| have their body plates 72 provided with the same longitudinally extending reenforcing ribs 13. At each end of the body 12 there are the integral prongs 16, 11, and one of these prongs is preferably made longer than the other. The reason for this is that it is unhandy to try to insert the end of two prongs initially into apertures at the same time.

-If one prong is longer than the other, it may be inserted or started in the apertures in the sheets first, and while being so started then the shorter prong may be brought into the apertures in the sheets while the longer prong merely holds its position. Thereafter both prongs may be driven home by pushing the bodies of the fasteners 90, 9| together.

In'this embodiment of the invention it is only necessary to provide the pronged members 90, 9| with one aperture or elongated transverse slot 92 at one endadjacent one of the prongs. Slot 92 has been located adjacent prong TI, and thus the device may be assembled with the prong 16 of each fastener passing through the aperture 92 of the other fastener. The prong 1! needs no aperture because it passes outside of the prong l6, and beyond the end of the body I2.

While it is possible to secure the fasteners by merely bending over the ends of the prongs, it is preferable to provide a pair of sliders 83, 84 upon each body 12. Each of these sliders comprises a strip of sheet metal having a flat body 85 that passes across the outside of the fastener body 12.

At each end there is a backward bend 86, 81 which embraces the edge of the body 72, and un derneath the fastener there are two'retaining flanges 88, 89. Thus the prongs may be held down against the body 12 by the sliders 83, 84.

Referring to Figure 9, this is a modification in which the body 72 and the prongs l6, 11 are made of separate pieces of metal. In this case the body of fastener 7| may have a pair of slots at the left end 74, I8, and the separate prong 16 may pass down through the slot 14 and over-and up 55 in the slots 18, where the prong is clinched to the body of the fastener T l The aperture 14 is also employed for passing the prong T! when the device is assembled. At the other end or right end of fastener H, prong 1] passes downward through aperture 15, then is bent toward the right and bent back on itself at 81 to. beclamped on the fastener H. Here again the slot 15' is employed to pass the prong 76 when the device is assembled.

;In this device it will be seen that the body of each fastener extends only slightly beyond the apertures in the sheets of paper, and this extra length of the body is provided only for the purpose of securing separate prongs to the bodies of the fasteners.

The use of separate prongs saves material because the prongs may be punched out of stock of less width than the body without any waste.

Figure 12' shows the fastener of Figure 10 clamped on a stack of sheets between the covers 93, 94. It illustrates why only one aperture 92 is required in the two-pronged fastener when the prongs are integral with the body.

While I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of all changes within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is?

A fastener for binding double apertured paper sheets in a stack separable between any two sheets into two bound units, comprising an elongated sheet metal body for engaging the face of the stack, said body having a pair of longitudinally extending reinforcing ribs, the said body having a pair of prongs punched out of the body and bent upwardly at substantially right angles to form apertures in the body, and located to be each inserted in the complementary aperture of a substantially identical body toward the prong side of said aperture, said body utilizing one of the openings at one end formed by punching 2. prong to receive a complementary prong of an identical body, and said body being provided with an open space at its other end beyond its second prong to pass the other prong of an identical body, the said body being provided with an outwardly pressed rib formation between said reinforcing ribs adjacent the base of each prong; and said latter rib formations each forming a groove on the side of the body with the open end away from the adjacent aperture to be complementary to the ends of the prongs of an identical body, and each groove terminating in an aper- ROBERT H. \VENDT.

REFERENCES CITED I The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 440,904 Smith Nov. 18, 1890 735,710 Chiger Aug. 11, 1903 1,067,036 Klein July 8, 1913 1,480,952 Potter Jan. 15, 1924 1,571,482 King Feb. 2, 1926 1,650,002 Alver Nov. 22, 1927 1,704,121 Charlton Mar. 5, 1929 1,982,272 Unger Nov. 22, 1934 2,339,412 Kern Jan. 18, 1944 

